


Indoor patio

by tennisuhs



Series: FICTOBER2018 [16]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, this is very bad i apologize
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 05:11:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16319780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tennisuhs/pseuds/tennisuhs
Summary: Jungwoo's roommate finally has taken the step of bringing his crush home. Which is great but now Jungwoo has to find a place to stay until dinner time. Maybe the patio inside his apartment building will do the job.





	Indoor patio

**Author's Note:**

> first of all i am not proud of this. at all. i think i started great but i lost confidence at the end. i see the potential in this and im definetely going to come back to it to edit it. so call this work in progress if you want, because this prompt is great and luwoo don't deserve this treatement.

PROMPT 16 → SEXILED LUWOO

 

Living far away from where you grew up had carried nothing but challenges so far, after almost two years, the responsibilities and decisions only reserved for adults soon caught up on Jungwoo, who refused to think of himself as a grown up. In his eyes he was still a child, even more so when he looked at his reflection in the foreign bath room of what he had grown used to call his home. There was not a trace of adulthood in that face, still traced by baby fat that just wouldn’t go away, the same big eyes and shaky pulse that had always walked side by side throughout Jungwoo’s life.

 

Thank to all heavens above existing and to exist, Jungwoo wasn’t alone in his journey across the first years of the mess that was the early twenties. His room mate had become his best friend, older but not by that any wiser. In fact, the liked to do crazy stunts on parties like jump on the nearest table, dance until he literally fell down and knock everything out of his way. But still, if it hadn’t been for Jaehyun, Jungwoo would had found himself holding onto his pillow as anxiety consumed him. No one to hold him through it, stop him from tugging at his own hair.

 

Jungwoo wanted to think that he got better, that it was the damn village he left behind the cause of all his dispair, that it was a matter of time before everything fell into place. And he was still waiting, for ever piece to click, to fit in the mechanism of his life perfectly, but he was getting there, collecting every gear and one by one placing them. Jaehyun had helped him more than he’d ever know. However, lately he had been rather distant, in the best way.

 

How’s that possible one might ask? Because Jaehyun had fallen madly in love with their neighbour, sweet, gentle, shy glances and even more tender touches when they thought no one was looking. Puppy love within the legal age to drink. So, kind of kitten love, Jungwoo guessed. And truth be told, he encouraged it. Jaehyun was a romantic, a secret lover, who wanted to keep the cold façade for whatever reason, but found himself daydreaming about beach dates and sighing at small details he would remember to make his partner happy.

 

So Jungwoo understood, when Jaehyun begged him to leave the apartment for the evening and come back for dinner, because he had a visitor. He understood, winked at the elder and grabbed his essentials for a study session. But then, realisation hit that he was alone, kicked out and with no clue where to go on that fine April afternoon. Not because of the lack of places to go, oh no au contraire: the city offered way too many options to decide.

 

Choosing the stairs over the elevator, the boy gave himself time to think. Run over his possibilities, and plan out what he had to do for his classes. Which was not much, given that spring break had just finished and everyone was still suffering from the lazy bug. Still, he managed to come up with something that would take up the few hours he would be away. The only problem was wifi. You see, Jungwoo wasn’t a big fan of spending money just to get some connection, even less of a fan of walking up to a waitress or barista or whatever to ask for the password.

 

It was then that he remembered: the apartment building had a indoor patio, where all the rain would soak their laundry hanging, connecting the neighbours with strings. The old ladies on the first floor would spend time either in the patio itself, in the mornings where the sun wouldn’t hit them, or talking from inside their houses but with the windows opened. Jungwoo thought of eavesdropping on their conversation, since they seemed to have dug up some nice gossip. Only to lose himself in the plot way too fast.

 

Turning right, he used an old school key attached to his bicycle lock keychain, and opened the door to the patio. There were two picnic chairs, donated kindly by the ladies that were playing bingo downtown since it was a Thursday. Jungwoo quickly claimed one of them, enjoying the afternoon sun pouring in the small opening, hitting the window glasses and ultimately warming him, as he took a deep breath. The plants scattered in small groups all around the place gave the patio a cozy feel, he never really paid attention to plants that much. Even though his mother liked taking care of her small garden, he never saw the appeal in them, besides aesthetic beauty.

 

Leaning against the plastic back rest, Jungwoo let his eyes flutter close. Only to snap open when the door opened behind him. Prompting him to almost rise from his seat, thinking the ladies were ready to come and re-claim their patio. However, he found quite the opposite figure standing in front of the closed door: a rather tall (very tall) young man, could be Jungwoo’s age really, holding a small watering device. The stranger’s eyes widened slightly, an eyebrow rose.

 

“Hi?” he said, voice low and sharp.

“Um, hello.” Jungwoo said politely bowing and reciving one from the taller as well. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bother.” he apologized

The other showed the palms of his hands, shaking them as he let a smile trace his features. “Oh no, it’s fine! I’m just not used to have company while I’m watering the plants.” However, the boy was also carrying a sports bagpack which he dropped gently on the chair next to Jungwoo.

“I see, so you take care of them?” Jungwoo asked looking around. Thinking that he should know, being a tenant and all, that the apartment had hired a gardening service.

“Yeah, the lady living right there.” the stranger pointed at the window in front of them. “Asked me to since she can’t do it after lunch. Movment impedements you see.” he explained, walking to the hose and letting the water run.

Jungwoo nodded. “Do you need help?” he asked, tilting his head.

“No, thanks though.” The stranger tured to face Jungwoo from over his shoulder with now a bigger smile. Before he snapped out of some sort of daze, or so it seemed, and stood up, leaving the hose to fill the watering device. “I’m Lucas by the way, you can call me Yukhei if you want.”

 

Jungwoo took the other’s hand and shook it, marveling at their size difference for just a second too long. “Jungwoo, I live in the third floor, door A.”

 

Yukhei froze once more, not letting go of Jungwoo’s hand. “Wait a second.” he mumbled. “You live with that tall dude with dimples?” afer getting a nod as an answer, Yukhei finally withdrew his hand. “Well, glad to know I won’t be alone when Sicheng decides to take him to our house instead.” Yukhei sighed returning to the hose and closing the tab.

 

“What do you mean?” Jungwoo asked sitting down once more.

“Our roommates are banging.” Yukhei replied, getting up from his crouching position, voice strained due to the movement. “But how come I haven’t seen you around?”

 

Jungwoo followed the other’s movements, seeing how maticulously Yukhei poured the water on the plants, which got more and which were left with a simple drizzle. “Oh.” Jungwoo caught himself. “My classes start mid-day, at around ten am? Maybe that’s why.”

 

Yukhei chuckled softly, going to the other table where more flower pots were awaiting. The conversation flowed from there, like the water being fed to the plants, each petal getting at least a tear drop of it. Yukhei was a filosophy major, and he used to live in the countryside as well, the buzzling city of Hong Kong never appealed to him as a child, but now he missed it. He had been raised around big trees, hanging pots of climbing plants, and a big atlas about herbolistary. He had made his own perfumes with his father’s help, and he missed the days where he could sit and draw a bouquet of flowers.

 

Jungwoo thought about what Jaehyun told him about giving your loved one flowers: how demonized it had been due to social media, how it held a story of forbidden words and star-crossed lovers, how flowers had a language. And Jungwoo caught himself thinking that, if he wasn’t a broke college student, he would buy Yukhei a bouquet every day. Smiling as the other finished his task, his eyes followed the taller’s frame until he sat down besides him. And maybe Jungwoo could afford a flower each day.

 

Yukhei started asking about Jungwoo, with child curiosity, leaning in on his seat, eyes meeting Jungwoo’s with a sparkle he thought he’d never see again. It was endearing, and soon enough he had poured every ounce of his story on the other. Jungwoo was flabergassed at that as well. Regretting it seconds after, before a hand found his on his lap, looking up, Jungwoo found Yukhei smiling: fond, endearing, ethereal. And maybe that’s when his heart knew, against any rational though, that he was it. That was it. Yukhei was the one.


End file.
